Glossary

B

baby walker

framework with wheels to assist babies in learning to walk (US origin)

baby weigher

Set of scales or other type of balance (balance scales or spring type) used to assertain the weight of a baby or small infant

bacteria

Micro-organisms which can cause disease but have an important role in global ecology.

bacterial culture

A population of bacterial micro-organisms grown in a laboratory environment. Usually developed in liquid or solid state.

bacteriology

The study of a group of single-celled organisms called bacteria.

badge

Objects bearing special or distinctive marks, tokens, or devices signifying membership, allegiance, authority, or qualification; usually worn on the person.

badges

Objects bearing special or distinctive marks, tokens, or devices signifying membership, allegiance, authority, or qualification; usually worn on the person.

baldness

trial term S&H

ball joints

Flexible mechanical joints that allow the axis of one part to be set at an angle to the other by virtue of the design of the two components. One possesses a fixed spherical shell to accommodate the ball-shaped end of the other. MEANS.

ballast fork

A large, long handled fork with blunt ended tines, used for spreading ballast on railway track.

ballast plough brake van

A goods brake van provided with plough ends for use in a Permanent Way Department train, to spread newly discharged ballast on the track.

ballast wagon

A railway vehicle dedicated to the carriage of railway ballast.

ballistic galvanometer

A moving-coil galvanometer designed for measuring charge by detecting a surge of current

balsam

An aromatic substance which is secreted from certain plants. It is used in some botanical medicines.

banana van

A heated or insulated goods vehicle for transporting bananas by rail.

bandage

A strip of material such as gauze used to protect, immobilize, compress, or support a wound or injured body part

bank - container

Small container often ornamental or mechanical for holding coins.

baptism

A ceremony symbolising purification and marking entry into the Christian church.

barber surgeon

Formerly a person referred to as a barber practiced some offices of surgery, such as letting blood and pulling teeth. Hence such terms as barber surgeon. A medical practitioner in medieval Europe who, unlike many physicians of the time performed surgery often on the war wounded.

barber-surgeon

A medical practitioner in medieval Europe, who performed some types of surgery, such as bloodletting and pulling teeth. They often performed surgery on people wounded in war.